Cheshire Grin: We're All Mad Here
by thesituation016
Summary: Time had taken so much from her and it continued to take from her for so long without ever giving anything back, but now it had and she's going to fight with everything that she has to make sure she get's to keep him this time. No one would take Bucky from her again. Sequel to Cheshire Grin and associated with Of Serpents and Doves, Immortals, and Rhea: Daughter of Heaven and Earth
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This to me feels like a rough draft of how I want to continue this story. I think it is missing something important, but I can't figure it out, it all feels so disjointed somehow. Any feedback would be nice.**

 **-The Situation**

-0-

They traveled for days straight only stopping for brief rests in the car, pit stops at small gas stations, a quick stop at a mom and pop store for clothes, and meals at local diners. In that time nether of them really talked and Bucky was constantly on guard against her, not trusting her one bit. He was keeping her as a hostage so if anyone came after him he'd have some leverage, or at least that's what he told himself when he looked at her out of the corner of his eye when he thought she wasn't paying attention.

That evening Cheshire set on the edge of another crappy bed in another crappy hotel in another crappy city starring over to Bucky who was peering through the curtains. After dragging her from the museum to the vacant house they had been set upon by some less then desirables forcing them to flee. Now they were on the run from everyone and worst of all Cheshire still wasn't sure if Bucky knew who she was or not because so far he had treated her like a prisoner.

They were on their way to a port city now and Bucky had made plans to take a boat ride across the big pond. Cheshire was a little nervous that after this he wouldn't have any more use for her, then he'd either attempt to kill her or just leave her behind.

Cheshire barely even moved as the door to the room opened and Bucky stepped in dressed in a hoody, jeans, and sneakers. He shut the door locking it behind him sending her a quick glance before setting the take out on the table. Bucky was on edge from the near misses with everyone that was chasing them as well as the emotional torture that having Cheshire around was putting him through. Snippets of memories were returning and he wasn't sure what to trust, but his heart, it had been so long he even knew he still had one, it was pulling him toward the vaguely familiar woman.

"Are you always going to look surprised when you see I'm still here?" Cheshire asked. "I'm starting to think you want me to make a run for it."

"You'd be smart to." He replied setting out the food.

"Yes, well I'm not smart." Cheshire walked over to the table.

"You're smart." Bucky grumbled. "You're stubborn to."

"It's one of my many charms." Cheshire started eating, Bucky doing the same. She almost missed the small grin he shot her before he took a bite.

His personality was coming back quicker than his memories were so that was making it doubly hard on Cheshire, but it was like a roller coaster, sometimes he'd be the Bucky she remembered and other times, a complete stranger.

After eating she went to one of the beds plopping down and turning on the TV to a re-run of something or another. Bucky was still eating having to consume much more than her do to the side effects of the serum they gave him. The TV was just something to occupy her mind, though it did a poor job as her eyes became unfocused. Memories flooded her mind and she was unable to keep them at bay.

She didn't even notice the tears streaming down her eyes until her vision was too blurred to see. She wiped at her eyes with the back of her arm angrily, she hadn't let her emotions get the best of her in years and she was not about to stop now.

"Cheshire?" Bucky said uncertainly. Of all the times for him to take notice of her, for the past days it had been stony silence, with just the bare minimum of conversation between them.

"What's up?" Cheshire asked turning her head from him, hiding her tears, but he had already seen them. Bucky walked over to the bed sitting in front of her causing it to dip slightly.

"Are you ok?" He asked. Where the heck was this concern coming from, Cheshire knew she wouldn't be able to handle it all if he started being nice to her all of the sudden, she wasn't ready.

"Yeah, of course, I'm fine…" Cheshire trailed off taking a deep breath. "Really, I'm…."

"Anya." And that was all he had to say for the dam to burst, the tears turning into sobs.

Bucky didn't say anything else as he gently pulled her into a tight hug. She had been so angry, sad, and scared at the same time for so many years, since she had lost him, then here he was right before her with barely an inkling of who she was, and it was ripping her heart to shreds. She clung to him as she pressed herself against him. She absorbed the soothing feeling of his hand rubbing her back gently resting his head on top of hers. Then to her and his own surprise he gently started to kiss the top of her head then slowly moved down to her forehead, her eyes, then her cheeks, and finally his lips found hers in a blazingly passionate kiss

It had been so long, so many dreams of this, his lips on hers. The way his arms wrapped around her pulling her close to his chest where she felt his heart beating beneath her hands making her feel more whole than she had in many, many years. He was here, he was alive, and she was so happy, but suddenly he jerked back away from her wide eyed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't…" Bucky quickly snapped to his feet rushing out of the room.

Cheshire watched him go the door slamming behind him as she brought her knees up to her chest as her tears started all over again. To have that wonderful feeling once again and have it ripped away left her heart in unbearable pain. She rocked back and forth forcing her sobs to remain silent, trying to push everything to the back of her mind again.

-0-

The next morning Cheshire heard the bathroom door open and close as she laid curled up in bed not wanting to move a muscle. She was dealing with her rocky emotions and what had happened the day before like she dealt with other traumatic events in her life. She stuffed them into a deep dark corner of her mind locking them away until the burst. If she pretended that it didn't happen then maybe so would Bucky.

Speaking thusly of she heard the bathroom door open and close followed by the hesitant sound of footsteps moving past the bed to the small table. When Bucky had come back in the night before, Cheshire had heard him, but hadn't moved a muscle even when she smelled donuts.

She untangled herself from the bed grabbing some clothes on her way to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. After a quick rinse off she got ready for the day and came back out taking a seat across from Bucky.

They ate their breakfast in silence, no one bringing up the night before. When they were done Cheshire made to clear the table, but Bucky beat her to it, wadding everything up and throwing it away. She noticed that Bucky kept running his hand through his long hair trying to keep it out of his face.

"Bucky." Cheshire gained his attention.

"What?" Bucky eyed her suspiciously.

"You need a haircut, real bad, do you want it cut or something?" Cheshire asked holding out a hair tie. He took it tying his hair from his face, giving her a nod of thanks.

"Something tells me the local barber might be hesitant to approach me." Bucky gestured to his metal arm after he had pulled his hair back into a low ponytail.

"True, well I could give it a shot if you want." Cheshire offered.

"Sure, maybe later." Bucky replied, still not that comfortable being near someone, especially after what had happened the night before.

"Sounds good." Cheshire nodded as they once again descended into an uncomfortable silence. About mid-day Bucky slipped out of the room to make sure they were still under the radar and make things ready for their next move.

Cheshire set up in front of the TV surrounded by various snacks, the ice cream having not been enough, watching an old movie when she heard Bucky come back in. She didn't know how worried she was until she felt the relief wash over her. It had taken him a little longer than usual to make his rounds and she thought he had up and left her for a moment. He walked in, the door shutting and securing behind him.

"How was your walk?" Cheshire asked looking over the couch to him.

"It was fine." Bucky replied glancing at the screen. "What's that?"

"It's the Philadelphia Story, care to join me? It just started." Cheshire asked with a small smile, but could see him hesitating, weighing the variables as well as looking over to her, worry in his eyes. It broke her heart to see that kind of fear directed at her and her smile faltered. "You don't have to Bucky, I mean it's completely up to you."

He sat on the other bed in the room casting her unsure glances, which hurt more than if he had just ignored her. Pushing her feelings aside she moved the bowl of popcorn so that it was between them on the nightstand and focused her attention on the screen.

-0-

They had made it to a small forested port town where their boat would be leaving from to take them across to the other side of the big pond. Cheshire had decided to take this time to take a run and let out a lot of her pent up stress.

Cheshire kept her breathing even as she ran through the woods enjoying nature all around her. It was always soothing and had helped to heal her more than once, offering her an escape. She moved off of the trail allowing the thick vegetation and rocks to become her obstacle course pushing her reflexes to the limit refusing to slow down until you came to a small lake, stopping right at the water's edge.

Cheshire stretched her arms over her head taking in a deep breath, the scent confirming to her that Bucky had followed her. She could tell he was trying to stay down wind so she wouldn't smell him, but she had caught and whiff and knew he was there. Whether it was to make sure she wasn't up to something or that he just wanted to be near her was a toss-up.

Rolling her shoulder she kicked off her running shoes and took off her jacket revealing her purple t shirt and jean shorts then walked into the water making sure to stay in the shallows considering swimming with adamantium bones was like swimming with an anvil strapped to her back.

Slowly she started to hum then began to sing 'Again' by Lionel Newman while she swayed in the water. Bucky crept closer staying in the tree line as he listened to the familiar song. He remembered that sometimes after missions he would remember it, or when he was really scared it always comforted him. Listening to Cheshire sing it felt…right and seemed to fill him with warmth he had not felt in too long.

She moved through the water allowing her hands to skim over the water causing ripples to spread out. She watched them grow until the water once again became smooth still singing hoping that the song would trigger something in Bucky.

As soon as the song was done she waded out of the water grabbing her shoes before running back through the woods towards home. Bucky watched her go before moving toward the shoreline picking up her jacket that she had left behind.

-0-

Cheshire was laying on the bed starring up at the ceiling when a loud scream from the bathroom made her whole body jerk having to bite her lip to stop her own scream from escaping. Cheshire bolted into the bathroom breaking the lock on the door as she forced it open. She saw Bucky curled up tight on the floor gripping his head, his teeth clenching together in pain.

"Bucky? Bucky what's wrong?" Cheshire called out dropping to her knees next to him as she gently touched his shoulder.

"Get away!" Bucky screamed lashing out, his flesh fist smacking her straight in the face. She stumbled back with a yelp of pain as Bucky struggled to his feet glaring down at her with cold eyes. "Who are you?"

"I'm Anya, your…friend." Cheshire snapped as she forced her bleeding nose back into place allowing it to heal correctly. "Damn!"

"I don't know you." He snarled grabbing her with his metal arm by her black tank top depicting the Disney version of the Cheshire Cat. He raised her up so that her back converse clad feet were no longer touching the ground. "Are you Hydra?"

"Let me go." Cheshire hissed, her eyes narrowing.

"Are you Hydra?" He demanded as he shook her.

"No." Cheshire snapped, her eyes going red.

"Then you are the enemy." He reared back his free hand, but Cheshire was quicker as she gripped his metal hand giving her leverage to kick him straight in his gut. With his lack of armor it was a powerful enough hit to send him stumbling back releasing her.

She landed on her feet going straight into a defensive stance as Bucky attacked sending out a series of sharp jabs, the most if which Cheshire took in her side, her arms up guarding her face. She rolled under his next jab and performed an upper cut to his jaw then spun around kicking him back even further.

She went for another punch only for him to grab her arm spinning her around so that his metal arm was wrapped around her neck, his flesh arm pinning her arms at her side.

"Bucky…Bucky…let me go." Cheshire struggled. "I'm your friend."

"You're not Hydra." Bucky tightened his hold around her neck cutting off air flow and leaving her no choice. She flexed her hands drawing her claws digging them into his side then when he loosened his hold in pain allowing her room to slam her adamantium skull into his face.

Cheshire fell to her knees as she coughed, trying to suck in as much air as possible while Bucky slid down the wall to the floor with a groan, his hands pressed over his face. Cheshire slowly looked to Bucky, her whole being tense as she watched him.

When he removed his hands from his face she saw that he had a split lip, some bruising on his cheek and jawline, and she was pretty sure his stomach was bruised as well. He slowly blinked his eyes like he was just waking up, then they really came into focus when his eyes met hers they filled with horror.

"I…I did that…" He said weakly.

"Don't worry about it." Cheshire said wiping the blood from her face and showing him the rapidly healing bruise. "I heal fast remember." Cheshire moved over so that she was sitting against the wall next to him. "What brought that on?"

"The memories, they hurt." He squeezed his eyes shut, his fists gripped tightly at his sides as he started to shake. "Sometimes they're little memories, but then sometimes huge chunks and I can't stop them, they just keep coming."

"I'm sorry." Cheshire said softly as she hesitantly placed her hand over his, relieved when he didn't pull away. Suddenly he doubled over with a scream of pain scarring Cheshire out of her wits. She instantly wrapped her arms around him holding him close as she continued to scream out.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist shaking hard like he was having seizure of some kind as she rocked him back and forth talking softly to him words of encouragement. Slowly he calmed down as his memories ran their course and started to stop. He stayed in her arms for a while as his breathing evened out and the pain left. She rubbed his back in a soothing manor, relaxing the tensed muscles.

'He liked this, being in her arms, being held, it felt nice, it felt familiar and so safe.' He thought to himself as she gently moved his hair out of his face. He had gone so long without this kind of contact; it was always torture nothing else.

"You ok?" She asked softly as he looked back up at her. He nodded slowly in response a faint blush on his face as he started to try and sit up with Cheshire's help. "What happened? Was it more memories?"

"It was a memory…of the train and falling off of it, Steve trying to grab me…he was so desperate." Bucky said as he gripped her hand not willing to let go of her completely as he sorted through his latest memories. "I could remember falling all of the sudden and then being dragged through the snow… my arm was gone and there was so much blood…my blood." He started to breath hard and Cheshire started to rub his back comfortingly. "Then the experiments and the tests, they ripped off the rest of my arm replacing it with this." He held up the metal arm, a look of disgust on his features. "Then they strapped me to a chair and wiped my memory, everything that was me they took away. Over and over again then they'd shove me into the cold make me sleep then wake me up for a mission to kill. Pierce, he ordered me to kill Steve, to kill you." He really started to shake. "Wipe, cold, kill, that was my life for the past seventy years, wipe, cold, kill."

"But it's not your life anymore." Cheshire said and her head cocked to the side with those simple words coupled with her hand soothingly rubbing circles on his back as she held his hand with her other he felt calm. "You are not what happened to you, you are what you choose to become."

"What happened…to Pierce?" Bucky asked.

"Me." Cheshire said darkly, her eyes flashing red, and Bucky let the subject drop. "How about we get you cleaned up and you can go for a walk outside, get some fresh air?"

"Sounds like a good idea." Bucky nodded as they both stood up, Cheshire taking care of his wounds before they left the bathroom. Cheshire plopped down onto the bed and was about to turn on the TV when Bucky paused at the door looking back at her.

"Aren't you coming with me?" Bucky asked causing her eyebrows to shoot up in surprise.

"Really? You wouldn't mind?" Cheshire asked and felt her heart jolt when a bright smile lit up his features.

"I like having you nearby, I feel…at home with you." He said with a bashful shrug. Cheshire didn't know what to say as her heart seemed to leap in her chest. She walked over to him with a bright smile opening up the exit allowing them both out. Her smile grew in size when she felt his hand take hold of hers, their fingers threading together.

-0-

They had come a long way over the time they had been on the run. They had come to settle in Buchares and had made a nice little life for themselves. They had a small one room apartment that wasn't the best in the world but they made it their home now. She had decorated it and taken time to make it a nice home for Bucky even when he teased her about it.

Bucky was sitting at the counter in the small kitchen reading over some books they had managed to gather that would help Bucky remember more and finally all of the pieces were coming together. Cheshire finished making the bed in the corner before moving over to the kitchen wrapping her arms around Bucky from behind. Cheshire had let her hair grow out to the middle of her back and was dyed jet black while Bucky kept his hair trimmed to ear length.

Bucky smiled as he reached up covering her hands with his and she settled her chin on his shoulder. He pressed a kiss to her cheek as he went on reading. With the return of his memories came the return of his feeling for Cheshire though it was some time before they acted on them, wanting to make sure that they were in love with each other now the same they were back then.

The simple gold band on Cheshire's left ring finger proved that their love had survived and was flourishing. They led a simple life supported by some jobs they had picked up around town, Cheshire in a restaurant and Bucky in a factory.

"We need groceries." Cheshire commented.

"See you when you get back." Bucky replied with a smile.

"Oh no you don't." Cheshire said taking the book from his hand. "I need some muscle to carry all of the stuff we need."

"That's all I am to you, a pack animal?" Bucky said standing up wrapping his arms around her as he leaned against the counter. Cheshire leaned against him, her lips brushing against his.

"Of course not." Cheshire said pecking him on the lips then pushed off his chest making for the door, purse in hand purposely swaying her hips as she walked, his eyes following her movements. "Now let's get going Jack."

"Cute, real cute." Bucky rolled his eyes as they headed out of the apartment, their arms around each other.

Cheshire and Bucky walked hand in hand through the market, some of their packages in hand. Stopping every once in a while to get something else before moving on his way. It was when they were picking up some plums that Bucky seemed to freeze. He glanced across the street at a man in a newsstand who was staring at them before running off.

They made their way across the street to the stand where Cheshire picked up a newspaper depicting Bucky as the main suspect in a bombing of the United Nations. Cheshire waded up the paper throwing it to the side only to see it was on the news as well.

Bucky took her hand and they made their way back to their apartment knowing that they were being followed. It was time to bug out and disappear again, what they didn't expect was for Steve to be standing in the middle of their apartment looking over Bucky's journal. He paused sensing their presence, setting is aside as he turned to face them.


	2. Chapter 2

Steve looked at the tow of them, now knowing what to say right away. Bucky and Cheshire were both in similar states of minds. Cheshire and Bucky had spent much of their time discussing his past, most of it revolving around the very man that stood before them. She had tried off and on to convince him to seek out Steve, but he wanted to wait until he was ready, now it seemed like the choice had been taken out of their hands.

"Heads up, Cap. German special forces approaching from the south." Sams voice broke the tense silence.

"Understood." Steve sat aside Bucky's journal to the side, looking from Cheshire to Bucky. "Do you know me?"

"You're Steve." Bucky answered hesitantly. "Cheshire told me about you and I read about you at the museum."

"They've set the perimeter." Sam said over the comma again. Both Cheshire and Bucky tensed, instinctively moving closer to each other.

"What the hell is going on here Steve?" Cheshire's eyes began to turn red.

"I know you're nervous." Steve said calmly, though his body language screamed otherwise. "And you have plenty of reason to be."

"He was set up Steve." Cheshire flexed her hands nervously, Bucky reaching over taking her hand in his.

"I wasn't in Vienna. I don't do that anymore." Bucky said on edge.

"He was here with me." Cheshire told him. "We haven't left the city since we came here."

"They're entering the building." Sam said.

"Well, the people who think you did are coming here now." Steve told them. "And they're not planning on taking you alive." His eyes focused on Cheshire. "Either of you."

"That's smart. Good strategy." Bucky's grip tightened on Cheshire's hand.

"Not that it will help them." Cheshire sighed glancing up at the ceiling when the sounds of footsteps could be heard.

"They're on the roof. I'm compromised." Sam told them.

"Ches, Buck, this doesn't have end in a fight." Steve told them.

"It always ends in a fight." Bucky said as the police closed in. Bucky took off his glove that covered his metal hand.

"You need to leave now Steve, while you can." Cheshire said, not wanting Steve to get in trouble with them, knowing Bucky felt the same.

"5 seconds." Sam said.

"You pulled me from the river." Steve said looked to Bucky.

"3 seconds!" Sam said.

"Steve…" Cheshire sighed.

"Breach! Breach! Breach!" Sam warned them as a bomb was thrown through the window, Cap smacking it back out of the window before it went off.

Another was thrown and Bucky went for it, kicking it over to Steve who slammed his shield down on top of it muffling the blast. Cheshire grabbed up the mattress of their bed holding up to shield them from another attack just as the door was starting to be bashed in. Bucky grabbed their table spilling its contents as he through it at the door wedging it shut.

A man came in through the window only for Bucky to take him out in a few hits, another coming in the other window fell back when Steve pulled the rug out from under him as well as taking out another that came in through the door to the balcony with a large gun. Bucky and Cheshire ran for the door, Steve grabbing Bucky before he could slip past.

"Buck, Cheshire, stop!" Steve tried. "You're gonna kill someone."

"We're not gonna kill anyone." Bucky threw him to the ground and punched through the floor grabbing the bags her and Cheshire had there. He stood tossing them both out of the door and over to the roof of the building next door.

"Give us some credit stripes." Cheshire grinned as another officer opened fire on them, but Bucky blocked it with his metal arm. More shots were coming in and Steve had recovered enough to block them with his shield. Bucky grabbed Steve and pushed him to he slammed shield first into a man coming in through the window.

Bucky started toward the door keeping Cheshire behind him as he blocked more incoming fire with his hand. When they were close enough to the man firing at them Cheshire ducked around Bucky and kicked the man into the wall knocking him out. Another officer came up behind Cheshire leveling his gun at her, but Bucky smashed him back with a cinder block.

They removed the table from the door just as three gun shots took out the hinges to their door. Cheshire slammed her fist through the wall next to the door grabbing the man that shot their door and pulling him hard so he slammed against the wall. Bucky barreled through the door taking out the others that were about to force their way in.

"Are you serious?" Cheshire snapped as a man came down through the sky light of the stairwell firing at them. Cheshire grabbed the man by his gun slamming him into the wall. Bucky picked up the ram the officers were going to use to hit the door using it to fight.

"Anya." Bucky grabbed hold of Cheshire and jumped onto the rope the man had used to come in through the ceiling and used it to swing to the other side. The officers were swarming up the stairs forcing them to fight their way through them, Steve close behind them.

One of the officers grabbed Cheshire from behind by her hair which was a bad idea. Bucky punched the man directly in the face forcing him to let go of Cheshire then ripped the man the rest of the way from her before throwing him back over the railing, Steve barely caught him before he fell.

"Come on." Steve said in exasperation, Bucky shrugged in reply while Cheshire smirked. Bucky ripped the railing using it to swing himself and Cheshire down to the next level as more officers came up.

"Makes you wonder who's minding the station." Cheshire mumbled as they battled the next wave, but were separated.

Cheshire was forced into another apartment and was followed by some of the officers, glancing out of the window just in time to see Bucky jumping to the roof of the next building. The first man approached his gun pointed at her head yelling at her to stand down, but as he tensed she whacked his hand to the side as he fired the bullet hitting one of the other men in the leg. Then she turned elbowing the first man in the jaw as she shot another with her gun in the arm at the same time jumping up and wrapping her legs around the man's neck shooting the man behind him in the arm then flipping back and kicking him in the jaw sending him to the floor.

Not pausing she raced toward the window at the end of the hall and crashed through it without hesitation. She sailed through the air landing on the roof of the building opposite theirs, rolling to minimize the impact. She scrambled to her feet and instantly her eyes landed on Bucky fighting off a man in a black cat suit. He was pinned down and the man in the catsuit was moments away from clawing Bucky's face.

"James!" Cheshire called out as she raced at the man kicking him back away from Bucky. The man rolled back on the ground, but bolted back upright, his arms tensed and claws ready as he faced down Cheshire. He charged as Cheshire taking a couple of swipes at her, one of them connecting and raking across her face leaving behind bloody claw marks. Cheshire managed to grab him by the wrists holding him back as her wounds knitted themselves back together. "Kitten, you're going to want to get those cheap press-ons out of my face before I show you what real claws are like."

They were in a standoff and Bucky was about to attack the Panther when a helicopter bore down on them, firing at them as it did. Falcon swopped out of the sky kicking the helicopter off coarse giving time for Cheshire to leap up, both of her feet connecting with the chest of the king sending him back.

Bucky scooped up his and Cheshire's bags grabbing her hand and racing for the edge of the building jumping down to the ledge below then to the street. They were followed closely by the Panther, who was hot on their trail as they raced away.

"Do we know this guy?" Bucky asked strapping on his bag and tossing the other to Cheshire.

"Can't seem to recall him." Cheshire replied as they ran, strapping on her own bag as well.

They were cut off by the helicopter which opened fire once again forcing them to jump down into the traffic. They ran with the cars, the panther behind them, and Steve behind him. There was a squealing of tires and Cheshire looked back to see Steve had stolen a car and was trying to shake the Panther that was clinging to the car. Police cars poured in from behind them, their sirens wailing and lights flashing.

"Look out!" Bucky grabbed Cheshire pulling her out of the way as more cop cars came at them, going against the traffic. The oncoming cops and the cops coming up behind them blocked each other's paths. Steve blasted through the barriers after them, still unable to shake the panther.

"We need a ride." Cheshire said and Bucky nodded grabbing hold of a bike throwing the biker to the ground while swinging the motorcycle around. Bucky jumped on and Cheshire leaped on the back wrapping her arms around Bucky before they took off down the road weaving through the traffic.

Cheshire turned around just in time to see Steve right behind them with that cat man on top of the car now. The panther leapt from the car straight at them and Cheshire reached out her hand grabbing him by the throat holding him back. He grabbed her arm holding on as she tried to shake him off against the wall they were passing. He used it to push off so that he was on their other side causing their bike to lean dangerously. Bucky managed to keep them up using his left hand to keep them up.

"Get rid of him!" Bucky yelled.

"What do you think I'm trying to do!" Cheshire kicked the man back hard so he finally released her, rolling on the ground. Steve barely swerved out of the way missing him as he continued his pursuit of them. Cheshire looked back and let out a groan of irritation. "Now he's on Sam, they're coming in fast."

"Hold on." Bucky threw a grenade just as they were exiting a tunnel, the explosion causing debris to fall, but the panther made it through flying straight at them cutting their back tire with his claws sending them all to the ground. Steve stopped his car suddenly, leaping out of it, and it rolled after him as he ran down the street toward them.

The panther jumped on Bucky rearing back his claws to go in for the kill, but Steve knocked him back to the ground. Cheshire got to her feet running over to Bucky who wrapped his arm around her as the police cars surrounded them with the cop car hovering over them. Then to make matter worst War Machine landed in front of them with his hands raised.

"Stand down now." Rhodes ordered and glancing around they could see all the men with guns trained on them. "Congratulations, Captain. You're a criminal." They swarmed, Bucky was forced to the ground and handcuffed.

"Get off of him." Cheshire growled out paying no mind to the guns cocked at her head. She tensed ready to attack them to save Bucky.

"Anya, don't." Bucky told her.

"But James…." Cheshire glanced at him, but he shook his head. It took all of Cheshire's willpower to listen to him and not to attack the men around her. The officers moved in and handcuffed her hands behind her back as they did with Steve. The man in the cat suit chose this moment to take off his helmet revealing his identity to them all.

"Your highness." Rhodes breathed out. The King looked form Bucky then to Steve and Cheshire, his face full of contempt and repressed anger.


	3. Chapter 3

They were taken to Berlin, Bucky held separately from them in a high tech container of some kind. Cheshire was stuck in the car with Steve, Sam, and T'Challa. She had refused to speak to anyone, Steve included, and settled on dark glares at anyone who came near her.

"So, you like cats?" Sam broke the silence in the car, eyeing the new king.

"Sam…" Steve said in warning voice.

"What? Dude shows up dressed like a cat and you don't wanna know more?" Sam asked.

"Your suit. Is it Vibranium?" Steve asked T'Challa.

"The Black Panther has been the protector of Wakanda for generations. A mantle passed from warrior to warrior. And now because your friend murdered my father, I also wear the mantle of king." T'Challa gave them a brief history lesson. "So I ask you, as both warrior and king, how long do you think you can keep your friend safe from me?"

"He did not kill your father kitten, we were nowhere near that attack." Cheshire growled lowly in her throat.

"Forgive me if I do not take you at your word." T'Challa bit out as they pulled up to the facility, and they were released from the vehicles. Cheshire looked across the compound to where Bucky was being taken, she made to follow, but was held back by guards. To get to Bucky she would have taken them all out, Steve's hand gripping her elbow and a shake from Bucky's head the only thing holding her back.

"What's going to happen?" Steve asked as they walked up to a short man in a grey suit that stood next to Sharon Carter.

"The same thing that ought to happen to you." Ross replied stiffly. "Psychological evaluation and extradition."

"This is Everett Ross, deputy task force commander." Sharon introduced them.

"What about our lawyer." Steve said.

"Lawyer, that's funny." Ross chuckled without any real humor. "See to their weapons are placed in the lock up." They watched as Steve's shield and Sam's wings were taken away. "Oh, we'll write you a receipt."

"I better not look out the window and see anybody flying around in that." Sam warned as they followed Ross and Sharon into the building.

"You will be provided with an office instead of a cell. And do me a favor, stay in it." Ross said to T'Challa.

"I'm not intending on going anywhere." T'Challa replied.

"And you, they only reason you're not in a matching cell with Barnes is because we have no proof that you were involved in the bombing." Ross said to Cheshire. "We're holding you on aiding and abetting for the moment until more evidence comes in."

"You won't find any, this was all a set up." Cheshire leveled a dark glare at the Panther who had scoffed.

"For the record." Natasha remarked as she fell into step with them. "This is what making things worse looks like."

"He's alive." Steve replied.

"The remaining of us are now at court-sec. And, Colonel Ross is supervising the clean up." Tony spoke into his phone while eyeing them as they came into the room.

"Try not to break anything while we fix this." Natasha said.

"Consequences? You bet there will be consequences. Obviously you can quote me on that because I just said it. Anything else? Thank you, sir." Tony hung up and walked up to them.

"Consequences?" Steve echoed.

"Secretary Ross wants you both prosecuted. I have to give him something." Tony said and Cheshire scoffed shaking her head.

"You think somethings funny?" Tony asked tensely.

"Yeah, I do." Cheshire grinned darkly. "You better get used to those words Tony, you're going to have to give on a lot of things from now on." She shook her head. "I had such hopes for you."

"I'm not getting that shield back, am I?" Steve asked breaking the starring contest between the two.

"Technically, it's the government's property." Natasha informed them. "Wings too."

"That's cold." Sam shook his head.

"Warmer than jail." Tony replied.

"Miss Petulengro, with me if you would." Ross gestured for her to follow.

"It's Mrs. Barnes actually." Cheshire said as she sauntered over him, starring down her nose at him. "But you can call me Cheshire."

Cheshire brushed past him with two soldiers flanking her, Ross following with an annoyed look. They took her to an office in the corner of the large room and right away she moved to the larger seat behind the desk. She took a seat with her legs propped up on the desk not caring about the paperwork that covered the surface.

"Comfortable?" Ross asked sarcastically, but only received a raised eyebrow in return. Ross took a thick book from the shelf nearby and threw it to Cheshire who caught it without batting an eye.

"What the hell is this?" Cheshire eyed the thick book.

"The Sokovia Accords. Approved by 117 countries... it states that the Avengers or in this case yourself, shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary. You sign them, you're free to go." Ross said handing her a pen. "The Avengers and individuals like yourself have had too much freedom and it has cost greatly."

"Example?" Cheshire tilted her head as she tapped the top of the book with the pen.

"New York." Ross said simply.

"You mean the unprovoked alien force that came to earth and while the Avengers where fighting them off the suits, that would be you guys, decided to send in a nuke to solve the problem? Right, all the Avengers fault. Save the earth from aliens and New York from a nuke, shame on them." Cheshire said in a board voice.

"What about your little escapade in Washington?" Ross countered.

"You mean when the suits used helicarriers designed by Stark to try and take over the world and kill all potential threats to their organization?" Cheshire raised a lazy eyebrow. "Yes, we should have just stepped back and let that happen." Cheshire leaned back. "Hey, you think one of those red dots was aimed at you or were you not enough of a threat do you think?"

"Ultron." Ross snapped feeling his blood pressure rise.

"That was all on Tony as far as I could tell." Cheshire sighed. "Not the Avengers or is every fault made by a single soldier now mean that punishment is needed for the whole army?" Cheshire let out a humorless chuckle. "Looks like these need to be renamed the Tony Stark Accords."

"Have you even seen these videos?" Ross gestured to the screens that had been displaying his points.

"I'm sorry that those people died, but I don't see how it's anyone's fault but their own for deciding it would be a good idea to film with their phones instead of run for their lives." Cheshire leaned forward twirling the pen between her fingers, her chin resting on her free hand. "All I care about is James."

"He's our problem now." Ross replied, almost taking a step back as Cheshire's eyes went red though her face held an off putting calmness to it.

"Then I think you know what you can do with these." Cheshire held up the accords and with a few swipes of her claws turned them into confetti and tossing them straight into Ross's face.

"In that case we have a room ready for you on The Raft, might want to pack a bag." Ross straightened his suit giving her a dark look as guards came in and escorted her to a more secure room that was obviously used for interrogations. It consisted of a metal table, two metal chairs, and four grey windowless walls. "And don't bother trying to get out of this room, guards are posted with orders to shoot tranquilizers strong enough to take out an elephant and this door becomes electrified as soon as it locks so you won't get far."

"Do I get bonus points if I act like I care?" Cheshire asked taking a chair and placing her crossed arms on the table resting her chin on top giving Ross a bored look. He made no reply as he turned on his heel and left the room, the door locking behind him.

Cheshire swung to her feet casually making her way over to the door eyeing it a bit before reaching out brushing her fingers over the metal door. She hissed in pain as she stumbled back shaking her hand in pain due to the strong electric shock the door had given her.

Cheshire growled as she started to pace trying to think of a way to get out of the room. She could pretend to be hurt, but given her abilities she doubted that would work. Perhaps she could ask for a bathroom break, but that also seemed unlikely. She was just about to attack the door in blind anger when suddenly all the lights went out.

Her eyes snapped right to the door and cautiously she brushed her hand over it again, but this time there was no shock. With a wide smile she extended her claws and cut through the door knob, slicing it right off so it fell to the ground with a clatter.

Turning her head to the side she heard three guns cocking on the other side of the door and knew that the men would be ready for her. She glanced about the room and her eyes began to turn red as an idea came to her.

The men opened fire as soon as the door burst open only to be met with the cut out top of the table which Cheshire used as a shield. She slammed into one of the guards knocking him out and threw the table top at the last two knocking them to the ground hard.

Taking her chance she bolted down the hall making her way back the way Ross had taken her. Luckily for her the agents were more occupied with the outage to really take notice of her, the few who did were easily taken care of.

She ducked a corner waiting for a moment when she struck out grabbing a smaller looking pencil pusher and pulled him into a small closet.

"Please…please don't hurt me." The small man begged.

"The alarms, what are they for?" Cheshire growled.

"The electricity went out, we lost camera feed to the Winter Soldier and the psychiatrist." HE answered quickly.

"Where is James?" Cheshire's eyes flashed and as soon as the man told her she knocked him out and made a run for it. She heard agents reporting Bucky's movements as best they could track them and ran into foyer where he was last reported only to run into T'Challa.

"Where is he?" T'Challa demanded.

"Even if I knew I would never tell you." Cheshire growled.

"I will not hesitate to go through you to get to him." T'challa warned, getting ready to attack her.

"Then we understand each other." Cheshire launched at him, but he blocked her attack knocking her hand down. Using her momentum she dropped swiping her leg around so she knocked him back to the ground. She made to flip around and plant her heel in the middle of his chest, but he rolled and leapt back to his feet from his back.

Cheshire snarled in annoyance, not having time for this and wanting to get to Bucky. The fight started again, but this time Cheshire was done trying to be nice. With a flick of her hand her claws came out and she swiped at the King who barely dodged the attack. He glanced down at his shirt with was now sporting the marks of Cheshire's claws. Through the holes in his shirt corresponding cuts could be seen.

His momentary loss of concentration was all Cheshire needed to grab a nearby chair and bring it across T'Challa's head knocking him back to the ground, but this time he was slower to get up. Cheshire ran as fast as she could out of the doors and into the streets, T'Challa who made to follow her lost her in the crowd.

Cheshire moved swiftly trying to think of another way back in to get to Bucky, but looking up saw a helicopter being tethered to the roof by none other than Captain America himself and wherever he was Bucky was. She ran in as close as she could get, but a river separated her from the building and she was not the best swimmer in the world.

Looking up again she saw the helicopter crash into the roof then start to fall over the edge, Steve still clinging to it as a metal arm gripped him by the throat. It hit the water with a great splash before sinking into the channel. She ran to the edge and was about to jump in when Steve popped up, his arm around an unconscious Bucky.

"Steve!" Cheshire called out and he swam over to her allowing her to help him get Bucky out of the water. "What the hell happened?"

"I don't know." Steve said darkly, but the sound of sirens urged them to continue their conversation elsewhere.

-0-

They had met up with Sam and where able to get to a warehouse of some kind though it wasn't easy. With the escape of not only the Winter Soldier, but also Captain America, the Falcon and Cheshire a lot of people were on their tail.

"You didn't have to do this, he's better now." Cheshire snapped, looking to where they had Bucky's metal arm trapped while he hung limply.

"What just happens begs to differ about that." Sam said sarcastically.

"It wasn't his fault, something had to have triggered that relapse." Cheshire growled, but her face softened when she saw Bucky coming to. She made to go to him, but Sam took hold of her arm. "Sam, did you ever hear what happened to the canary when faced with the cat?"

"Hey, Cap!" Sam called out, ignoring the unnerving threatening red eyes of Cheshire as best he could.

"Let her go." Bucky growled lowly.

"It's ok Bucky." Cheshire's went back to amber when she looked to him with a gentle smile just as Steve came in. Cheshire pulled from Sam's grip going over to Bucky kneeling in front of him.

"Steve." Bucky breathed out as the two men eyed each other.

"Which Bucky am I talking to?" Steve asked crossing his arms.

"Your mother's name is Sarah. You used to wear newspapers in your shoes." Bucky said with a small chuckle.

"You can't read that in a museum." Steve smiled.

"Just like that, we're suppose to be cool?" Sam asked sarcastically.

"What did I do?" Bucky asked worriedly, seeing the distress in Cheshire's eyes as she started to remove his arm from the machine.

"Enough." Steve replied bluntly.

"I knew this would happen. Everything HYDRA put inside me is still there." Bucky said bitterly. "All he had to do is say the god damn words."

"Who was he?" Cheshire asked as they stood up, Bucky moving his arm around now that it was free.

"I don't know." Bucky said shaking his head.

"People are dead. The bombing. The set up. The doctor did all that just to get 10 minutes with you. I need you to do better than "I don't know."" Steve said sternly.

"He wanted to know about Siberia. Where I was kept." Bucky told him as he hesitantly recalled the meeting. "He wanted to know exactly where."

"Why would he need to know that?" Steve asked as Cheshire and Bucky went tense with realization.

"Because Bucky is not the only Winter Soldier." Cheshire said placing a comforting hand on Bucky's shoulder.

"The most elite death squad. More kills than anyone in the HYDRA history." Bucky informed them. "And that was before the serum."

"They all turned out like you?" Sam asked.

"Worse." Bucky replied darkly.

"The doctor, can he control them?" Steve asked.

"Enough." Bucky nodded.

"He said he wanted to see an empire fall." Steve said.

"With these guys he can do it. They speak 30 languages, can hide in plain sight, infiltrate assassinate, destabilize, they can take a whole country down in 1 night." Bucky listed off their attributes. "You'd never see them coming."

"This would be a lot easier a week ago." Sam commented.

"If we could... If we call Tony…" Steve said already knowing what would happen if the called Iron Man.

"Oh, he won't believe us." Sam replied voicing Steve's thoughts.

"Even if he did..." Steve nodded.

"Who knows if the Accords will let him help?" Sam finished.

"We're on our own." Steve surmised.

"Maybe not." Sam said thoughtfully. "I know a guy."


	4. Chapter 4

Cheshire glanced from car to car mumbling to herself until she came to a dark blue colored old Volkswagen bug. She had volunteered to go search for a ride for them being the one less likely to draw attention as long as she kept on her sunglasses.

She glanced around before jabbing her claw and twisting it to pop the lock. Slipping in the quickly hotwired the vehicle and pulled away into traffic. When she saw the combined less that impressed faces of Steve and Same along with an amused look from James she couldn't help but to smirk a bit.

"Couldn't have found something a little more embarrassing?" Sam asked then gestured to Steve and James. "I'm not even sure that they'll fit."

"It's low profile." Cheshire said with a shrug as they squeezed in, Sam still complaining. "There is just no making you happy is there?"

"It's a small car and you got some big men, you couldn't have got something bigger?" Sam asked her taking the passenger seat while Steve took the drivers with Bucky behind Sam, and Cheshire next to Bucky.

"You seem to fit just fine." Cheshire raised a brow, gaining a chuckle from Bucky and smile from Steve that he tried to hide with a cough while Sam glared straight ahead.

Steve was able to get into contact with Sharon who was smuggling them their equipment. They pulled up under a large bridge that had seen better days covered in graffiti. Sharon was waiting for them and Steve stepped out to meet her.

"I'm not sure you understand the concept of a getaway car." Sharon commented as the eyed the small bug.

"It's low profile." Steve echoed Cheshire's words from earlier.

"Good, 'cause this stuff tends to draw a crowd." Sharon opened the trunk of her car revealing Sam's wings and Steve's shield along with their uniforms, including some stuff for Bucky and Cheshire.

"Can you move your seat up?" Bucky asked Sam.

"No." Sam frowned, the two not really getting along.

"Trade me." Cheshire sighed and moved so she was sitting in Bucky's lap, but when she made to move to the other seat he tightened his hold around her waist.

"Or you could just stay here." Bucky mumbled into her ear.

"Well I'd have to lay my head on your shoulder here so my head won't bump the roof." Cheshire did so, her lips brushing against his neck.

"Ok, you both need to stop." Sam snapped causing them to laugh at his discomfort as Cheshire slipped back to the seat, Bucky keeping his arm around her so she was pressed into his side.

"I owe you again." Steve commented.

"I'm keeping a list." Sharon assured him, glancing at where Bucky and Cheshire were curled up next to each other, Sam looking both annoyed and nauseated. "You know, he kind of tried to kill me."

"Sorry, I'll put it on the list." Steve smiled at his friends then looked back to Sharon. "They're going to come looking for you."

"I know." Sharon nodded.

"Thank you, Sharon." Steve smiled as they, for a moment, starred into each other's eyes before Steve gave in and pulled Sharon into a deep kiss. Slowly they pulled apart, both smiling as they remained in each other's arms.

"That was..." Sharon breathed out.

"Late." Steve nodded.

"Damn right." Sharon agreed. "I should go."

"Okay." Steve reluctantly allowed her to move back to her car, turning back to the car where he was met with three smirking faces nodding to him. He rolled his eyes with an annoyed sight, but a hint of a smile on his lips as he went to the car.

-0-

They pulled up into the parking garage stopping near a white van where Clint and Wanda were waiting for them. Getting out of the car Bucky and Cheshire kept the bug between them and the others, Sam and Steve moving to greet their teammates.

"Cap." Clint shook hands with Steve.

"You know I wouldn't have called if I had any other choice." Steve said.

"Hey man, you're doing me a favor." Clint assured him. "Besides... I'm on your team."

"Thanks for having my back." Steve smiled, nodding his head to Wanda.

"It was time to get off my ass." Wanda replied glancing over to Clint.

"How's our new recruit?" Steve asked.

"He's ready to go." Clint opened the van to reveal a sleeping man who startled awake at the sound. "I have to put a little coffee in him, but he should be good."

"What time zone is this?" Scott asked groggily.

"Come on." Clint called him out of the van. "Come on."

"Captain America." Scott smiled in excitement as he approached the super soldier.

"Mr. Lang." Steve greeted him shaking his hand, but it became awkward when Scott didn't let go.

"It's an honor. I'm shaking your hand too long." Scott finally let go. "Wow. This is awesome. Captain America." Scott said to the others then spotted Wanda. "I know you too, you're great. Jeez." Scott squeezed Steve muscles. "Look, I wanted to say. I know you know a lot of super people, so... Thanks for thinking of me." He looked to Sam. "Hey, man."

"What's up tic-tac." Sam replied.

"Good to see you. Look…what happened last time was a..." Scott began.

"It was a great audition, but it'll... it'll never happen again." Sam assured him.

"What happened last time?" Cheshire asked.

"Nothing important." Sam said quickly.

"Did he tell you what we're up against?" Steve asked Scott.

"Something about some... psycho assassins." Scott replied.

"We're outside the law on this one. So, if you come with us, you're a wanted man." Steve warned the man.

"Yeah, well, what else is new?" Scott shrugged.

"We should get moving." Cheshire called out.

"I got a chopper lined up." Clint told them just as an announcement rang out over the comms in German.

"They're evacuating the airport." Bucky told them.

"Stark." Steve said.

"Stark?" Scott echoed.

"Suit up." Steve ordered. Bucky slipped his hand into Cheshire's grabbing their stuff before pulling her away from the others to get ready. He had tried to talk her into staying behind, but she had of course refused to.

Cheshire slipped into her uniform which consisted of a high necked body suit much like black widows, a pair of wrist length fingerless gloves, a pair of black cargo pants that tucked into a pair of black flexible boots, a black leather jacket, and she had her hair pulled back into a low braid.

"Be careful out there Anya." Bucky pulled her close resting his cheek on the top of her head as she pressed herself to him as tightly as possible.

"You know me James." Cheshire smiled.

"I know, that why I'm telling you to be careful." Bucky looked down at her cupping her face and rubbing his thumb along her cheek. She smiled up at him softly as she mirrored his actions placing her hand on his cheek.

"I love you James." Cheshire said softly.

"I love you to Anya." Bucky tilted Cheshire's face up so she could see the emotion in his eyes.

Cheshire licked her lips in anticipation of what was to come feeling his warm breath fanning her face. His hand moved up to Cheshire's hair as he pressed his lips to hers, Cheshire in turn wrapping her arms around his neck pulling him closer. Neither one of them had the desire to part but Steve clearing his throat brought them back.

"Sorry, but we need to go." Steve told them. "Cheshire I'll need you with me on this one."

"Got it stripes." Cheshire saluted giving Bucky one more kiss before they parted ways, Bucky partnering up with Sam much to their mutual annoyance. They rest took up their positions getting ready for the fight they all knew was coming.

-0-

Steve and Cheshire moved out toward the helicopter that Clint had waiting for them only for it to be shot with a device that caused an electrical current that fried the systems. Iron man flew in with War Machine landing right in front of them.

"Wow, it's so weird how you run into people at the airport." Tony said sarcastically as his mask pulled back. "Don't you just feel weird?"

"Definitely weird." Rhodes agreed.

"Hear me out, Tony. That doctor, the psychiatrist, he's behind all of this." Steve tried to reason, but the Black Panther decided to make his presence known as he landed in front of them.

"Captain." T'Challa said.

"Your highness." Steve nodded.

"Awe come on kitten, don't ignore me, hurts my feelings." Cheshire said sarcastically with a fake pout.

"I have no words for the likes of you." T'Challa ground out.

"Anyways. Ross gave me 36 hours to bring you in." Tony told them. "That was 24 hours ago. Can you help a brother out?"

"You're after the wrong guy." Steve said.

"Your judgment is askew." Tony snapped. "Your war buddy killed innocent people yesterday."

"He didn't do it tin can." Cheshire growled, her eyes going red. "He didn't plant that bomb, he didn't kill the kittens father, and you can stuff your self-righteous accusation straight up your…"

"Tony, there are 5 more super soldiers just like him." Steve cut her off bringing them back on subject. "I can't let the doctor find them first, Tony. I can't."

"Steve. You know, what's about to happen." Natasha came up to them. "Do you really want to punch your way out of this one?"

"All right, I've run out of patience. Underoos!" Tony called out and a boy in a blue and red suit with the emblem of a spider jumped over them webbing Steve's shield pulling it to himself at the same time webbing Steve's and Cheshire's hands. He landed in a crouched position not far from them. "Nice job, kid."

"Thanks. Well, I could've stuck the landing a little better. It's... just the new suit... Well, it's nothing, Mr. Stark It's…It's perfect, thank you." The boy said nervously.

"Yeah, we don't really need to start a conversation." Tony told him.

"Okay. Cap... Captain. Big fan, I'm Spider-Man." Spider-Man introduced himself. "And Cheshire…big fan of you to…I actually did a history report on you for National Women's History Month…." Cheshire raised any eyebrow at him. "…got an A…."

"How old is this kid?" Cheshire glanced at Steve who shrugged.

"Yeah, we'll talk about it later. Just..." Tony tried.

"Hey, everyone." The spider waved.

"My lord, he's just a child, you recruited a child!?" Cheshire nearly yelled at Tony.

"... good job." Tony said ignoring Cheshire.

"I'm not a child" Spiderman said in an offended voice, trying to make it sound deeper.

"You've been busy." Steve commented.

"And you've been a complete idiot. Dragging in Clint. Rescuing Wanda from a place she doesn't even want to leave." Tony listed off in mounting frustration.

"The key word there is 'Rescued'. You don't get rescued from places you want to stay at." Cheshire pointed out.

"A safe place." Tony snapped at her before looking back to Steve. "I'm trying to keep... I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart."

"You did that when you signed." Steve replied.

"It sounds to me like you have control issues." Cheshire tilted her head. "Trying to put a suit of armor around the world huh?"

"Alright, I'm done. You're gonna turn Barnes over and you're gonna come with us. NOW!" Tony snapped at them. "Because it's us! We're squaded JSOC, guys, with no compunction about being impolite. Come on, man."

"We found it. The quinjet's in hanger five, north runway." Sam told them having been scoping out the area with a Red Wing. Steve raised his hands and Clint shot as arrow that cut through the webbing freeing Steve while Cheshire drew her claws shredding hers bonds apart.

"Alright, Lang." Steve said and Scott who had been on Steve's shield went to work.

"Hey, guys. Something..." Spiderman started but Scott growing back to normal suddenly and kicking Spiderman away while grabbing the shield cut him off.

"Whoa. What-What the hell was that?" Rhodes questioned as Scott landed next to Steve and Cheshire.

"I believe this is yours, Captain America." Scott handed the shield back to Steve.

"Oh, great. Alright, there's two on the parking deck. One of them is Maximoff, I'm going to grab her. Rhodey, you want to take Cap and Cheshire?" Tony said taking off into the air, his mask slipping back into place.

"Got two in the terminal. Wilson and Barnes." Rhodes informed them.

"Barnes is mine!" T'Challa took off while Steve engaged in a fight with War Machine leaving Scott with the Black Widow.

"Like hell." Cheshire ran at him kicking him from behind. He tried to recover, but was not fast enough allowing her to wrap her arm around his throat twisting him around so he was once again on the ground and she was able to take up position in front of him claws ready.

"Move." He ordered as he stood back up. "I won't ask a second time."

"There's no need to repeat yourself kitten, I ignored you just fine the first time." Cheshire smirked as the Panther ran at her jumping into the air performing a turning double kick with Cheshire blocked with her forearms.

He jabbed to her left then to her right, Cheshire being able to avoid each attack before delivering a series of jabs to his stomach forcing him back. His claws made contact with her face and she returned the gesture by grabbing his upper arms digging her claws in and rolling back so he was flipped over to the ground on his back. She shot to her feet planning on bringing her heel down on his head, but he rolled out of the way and back to his feet. Cheshire darted forward planting a butterfly kick to his chest that forced him back to where Rhodes had just hit down, forced back by Steve's attack.

"Captain, heads up!" Scott ran over to Steve holding up a small truck and a blue disk. "Throw it at this. Now!"

They threw at the same time, the disk and truck coming into contact causing the truck to grow.

"Oh, come on!" Rhodes whined as the truck landed right in front of him in a fiery explosion.

"Oh, man. I thought it was a water truck." Scott said in shock, Steve and Cheshire shooting him a look. "Uh... sorry."

"Let's get going." Cheshire said taking off with Scoot and Steve on her tail.

"There's our ride." Clint said as he and Wanda caught up with them.

"Come on!" Steve gestured to Sam and Bucky running up on their right. They were almost to the jet when a beam of light shot down marking a line in the concrete. They all looked up at Vision flying before them.

"Captain Rogers. I know you believe what you're doing is right. But, for the collective good, you must surrender now." Vision told him.

"What do we do, Cap?" Sam asked as the rest of Tony's team came in.

"We fight." Steve said and with that the two teams rushed each other, clashing in a great wave of violence.

T'Challa pounced on Bucky forcing him to the ground, Cheshire ramming her shoulder into his side forcing him off. He grabbed her by the arm swinging her around and slamming her on the ground hard. Bucky raced in delivering devastating hits with both flesh and metal arms, one good hit forcing T'challa on his back, but the panther merely flipped back onto his feet renewing their fight. They locked together, each with a hold on the others throat.

"I didn't kill your father." Bucky told him.

"Then why did you run?" T'Challa questioned forcing Buky's metal arm away from his throat, then kicked him back hard.

"Why didn't you give us a chance to talk?" Cheshire snapped back as she grabbed him from behind. He grabbed her arms flipping her over on the ground and punching her in the face. Bucky threw a couple of hail Mary's as he yelled, but T'Challa grabbed his flesh arm twisting it painfully back then performing a spinning kick that had Bucky flying into some crates.

"No." Bucky breathed out as he fell back against the crates.

"Take that!" The panther lunged in for the kill, but was stopped, his claws centimeters from Bucky's throat, by Wanda's abilities. She twisted her hands around and threw him into a loading ramp. Cheshire struggled to her feet, still a bit dazed as she ran over to Bucky kneeling in front of him.

"Are you ok?" Cheshire panicked.

"I'm fine, are you ok?" Bucky looked in concern at the amount of blood on her face.

"I'm ok." Cheshire assured him. "His hits are just a little tougher to bear with that vibranium of his. First time in a long time that I've really felt a punch."

"Come you two, we need to get moving." Wanda called out to them and together they rejoined the fight. They came up on Steve, taking cover as they assessed the situation, Tony, Rhodes, and Vision keeping them pinned down from the sky.

"We've got to go." Cheshire said.

"That guy's probably in Siberia by now." Bucky agreed.

"I'm gonna draw all the fliers. I'll take Vision. You two get to the jet." Steve ordered.

"No, you get to the jet! All three of you! The rest of us aren't getting out of here." Sam told them.

"As much as I hate to admit it, if we're gonna win this one, some of us might have to lose it." Clint agreed.

"This isn't the real fight, Steve." Sam said.

"Alright, Sam, what's the plan?" Steve asked.

"We need a diversion, something big." Sam said.

"I got something kind of big, but I can't hold it very long. On my signal, run like hell. And if I tear myself in half..." Scott told them.

"Wait, what?" Cheshire looked concerned and confused.

"Don't come back for me." Scott said.

"He's tearing himself in half?" Bucky questioned.

"You're sure about this, Scott?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, I do it all the time. I mean once... ...in a lab. And I passed out." Scott rambled a bit as he psyched himself up. "I'm the boss. I'm the boss. I'm the boss. I'm the boss. I'm the BEST!"

Suddenly Scott shot up into the air growing into a giant and grabbing Rhodes, much to the shock of both sides.

"I guess that's the signal." Steve commented.

"Way to go, tic-tac!" Sam cheered as Steve, Cheshire, and Bucky took off for the Quin-Jet.

They were almost there when another beam of light from Vision cut through the flight tower sending it straight down to where it would cut them off. Wanda was able to stop the descent giving them just enough time to slip through before Rhodes took her out with a sound blast, but they weren't the only ones to make it.

"You're not going to stop?" Natasha said.

"You know I can't." Steve replied.

"I'm going to regret this." Natasha held up her hand then fired a stunning shot which struck the Panther that had been coming up behind them forcing him to the ground. "Go."

Needing no further prompting the three of them ran as fast as they could into the jet. Strapping in Steve got it started while Bucky and Cheshire took the seats behind him, using the weapons to blast away the debris. Natasha held off Panther with one hit after the other, he was finally able to overcome it making a desperate leap grabbing onto one of the wheels as they took off. It was no use though as the wheels were retracted he fell off and they took off.

"What's gonna happen to your friends?" Bucky asked after they had been flying in silence for a time.

"Whatever it is, I'll deal with it." Steve said with a stiff jaw.

"I don't know if I'm worth all this." Bucky starred down at the ground.

"What you did all those years... It wasn't you. You didn't have a choice." Steve tried to reassure him.

"I know." Bucky chewed the indie of his cheek. "But I did it.

Cheshire wanted so bad to say something to make his pain go away, but she knew how he felt. To see all those people dying at your hands over and over again, knowing that there's not a thing you can do about it, but still filling their blood on your hands. Cheshire slipped her arm through his resting her head on his shoulder.

"You are worth it James, you're worth it to us." Cheshire said softly as he rested his head on top of hers.


	5. Chapter 5

They landed soon after in a freezing snowbound landscape right outside of the hidden Russian facility. Bucky grabbed a large gun, Steve stuck with his shield as usual, while Cheshire was strapping on a pair of handguns and a few knives.

"You remember that time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of that freezer truck?" Steve asked as he lowered the back ramp of the jet.

"Was that the time we used our train money to buy hot dogs?" Bucky asked.

"You blew 3 bucks trying to win that stuffed bear for a redhead." Steve replied.

"What was her name again?" Bucked asked.

"Dolores. You called her Dot." Steve answered.

"She's got to be a hundred years old by now." Bucky commented.

"So are we, pal." Steve clapped him on the arm.

"Dot huh?" Cheshire came up behind them.

"Not nearly as beautiful as you doll." Bucky wrapped his arm around her pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Good, because I am the jealous type you know." Cheshire commented gaining a small chuckle from the two men as they descended the ramp walking up to the open doors of the underground compound.

"He can't have been here more than a few hours." Steve said lowly.

"Long enough to wake them up." Bucky replied as they stepped inside and took the rather cramped elevator down.

"It's' a good thing none of us are claustrophobic." Cheshire commented from between the two super soldiers, her foot tapping in agitation. She wasn't claustrophobic per say, but didn't do the best in such confined and enclosed situations. Bucky reached over to her taking her hand in his rubbing the back of it with his thumb keeping her calm.

The elevator came to a stop, the doors sliding open and Steve lifting the gate up for them to get out. Bucky took point with his gun raised, Cheshire was next with a pistol in each hand, followed by Steve with his shield held at the ready. They had just started up some stairs when there was a loud clang from behind them. Steve raised his shield as Bucky pointed his gun in the direction of the noise while Cheshire took up position behind Bucky, her guns raised and eyes red.

"You two ready?" Steve asked.

"Yeah." Bucky nodded.

"Ready." Cheshire answered through bared teeth. The clanging got louder now joined by the sound of creaking metal as the doors they had just come through were forced apart by Iron Man. He came into the room, his mask slipping back.

"You seem a little defensive." Tony commented.

"It's been a long day." Steve said moving forward, shield still up in case of attack. Bucky and Cheshire hadn't lowered their defenses either, their guns still trained on the metal man.

"At ease, soldier, Cheshire. I'm not currently after him." Tony looked up at them, but they made no move to lower their guns.

"Then why are you here?" Cheshire grit out.

"Could be your stories not so crazy. Maybe." Tony admitted. "Ross has no idea I'm here, I'd like to keep it that way." Tony told them leaning against one of the pillars. "Otherwise, I gotta arrest myself."

"Well, that sounds like a lot of paper work." Steve said lowering his shield. "It's good to see you, Tony."

"You too, Cap." Tony nodded then looked back to where Bucky and Cheshire were not so relaxed. "Hey, Manchurian candidate, you and your girl are killing me. There's a truce here, you can drop the guns."

"I trust you about as far as I can throw you in that tin can of yours Tony." Cheshire glared as she reluctantly lowered her guns along with Bucky. They moved through the facility, Cheshire keeping a wary eye on Tony just in case. There was not a sound to be heard and it was clear by the dilapidation of the building that it had not been used in many years.

"I got heat signatures." Tony alerted them.

"How many?" Steve asked.

"Uh, one." Tony said in confusion as they came across all of the soldiers still in their tanks with a bullet hole through each one.

"If it's any comfort, they died in their sleep." Zemo said, alerting them to his presence in some sort of locked off control room. "Did you really think I wanted more of you?"

"What the hell?" Bucky eyed him.

"I'm grateful to them though, they brought you here." Zemo told them before Steve through his shield against the door to the room which did nothing. "Please, Captain. The Soviets built this chamber to withstand the launch blast of a few a 100 rockets."

"I'm betting I can beat that." Tony commented.

"Oh, I'm sure you could, Mr. Stark. Given time. But then you'll never know why you came." Zemo replied.

"You killed innocent people in Vienna just to bring us here?" Steve's jaw was tense in anger.

"I thought about nothing else for over a year. I studied you, I followed you. But now that you are standing here, I just realized..." Zemo eyed Steve with a small smirk. "There's a bit of green in the blue of your eyes. How nice to find a flaw."

"So you brought us all the way to this abandoned frozen waist land to flirt with Steve?" Cheshire's head cocked to the side, the red of her eyes the only thing giving her anger away. "Really taking creepy stalker to a whole new level aren't you?"

"You're Sokovian." Steve spoke up. "Is that what this is about?"

"Sokovia was a failed state long before you blew it to hell." Zemo shook his head. "No. I'm here because I made a promise."

"You lost someone." Steve surmised.

"I lost everyone." Zemo corrected him in anger. "And so will you. An empire topple by its enemies can rise again." A screen next to them came on revealing a back road. "But one which crumples from within... that's dead ...forever."

"I know that road. What is this?" Tony demanded tensely, but Zemo made no answer.

Tony watched as his mother and father were killed by the Winter Soldier. First Howard, two hits to his head from the metal fist as Maria called out for him, his body thrown from the car by the soldier. Tony looked from the screen to Bucky, who numbly met Tony's gaze. Cheshire's grip tightened on her guns as she stepped closer to Bucky, standing almost between him and Tony as the soldier on screen moved over to Maria taking hold of her throat and squeezing the life out of her.

"Tony." Steve grabbed Tony who shaking with raw emotion as he made for Bucky. Bucky took hold of Cheshire pulling her back with him as Steve held Tony back. "Tony."

"Did you know?" Tony asked him.

"I didn't know it was him." Steve lied.

"Don't bullshit me, Rogers!" Tony snapped hoarsely.

"Tony, this is exactly what Zemo wants, don't give it to him, think for a…." Cheshire tried to calmly reason with him, but was ignored.

"Did you know?" Tony ground out, his eyes not leaving Steve's.

"Yes." Steve relented and Tony pushed away from him, his mind on fire with all of this new information and what he had seen on the screen. Suddenly he back handed Steve then shot Cheshire back, his helmet coming down, and he turned on Bucky who raised his gun in retaliation. He fired off some shots that the suit easily deflected, Tony snatching his gun from him. Bucky made to punch him with his metal arm, but Tony blacked him grabbing him by the neck. Stark shot off into the air slamming him into the ground about to slam his fist into Bucky's face.

Cheshire scrambled to her feet tossing her guns aside knowing they would have no effect on the ironman suit as she ran toward them and jumped on Tony's back digging her claws into the metal managing to slice across his mask. Tony shot back slamming her hard into a wall forcing her to release him.

He was back on Bucky in an instant once again, only to be deterred by Steve's shield knocking him back off of him. Steve attacked Tony who rammed into him, the shield the only thing between them, but it was enough to force Steve to the ground. Tony shot out a device that wrapped around Steve's legs locking him in place before he went after Bucky, holding him in the air against a wall by his throat. Bucky managed to grab Tony's hand in his metal one crushing the repulser.

Tony tried to shoot him with one of his tank missiles, but Bucky deflected him causing it to hit some of the machinery setting of a large explosion. Steve broke his leg lock with a few hits from his shield and ran toward the fighters, Cheshire right behind him. The machinery fell down on them knocking Bucky from Tony's grasp and burying ironman under the debris. Cheshire helped Bucky up looking to Steve who was just on the other side of the debris.

"Get out of here!" Steve ordered them, but Bucky hesitated.

"James, we need to go, he's never going to be able to calm him down with you here." Cheshire pulled him along, Bucky reluctantly following knowing that she was right, but not wanting to leave Steve behind. Bucky flipped a switch that opened up a large portion of the ceiling and they started up toward it. Tony recovered coming out of the debris and hovering in front of Steve.

"It wasn't him, Tony." Steve tried to reason with him. "Hydra had control of his mind!"

"Move!" Tony ordered as he thrust forward.

"It wasn't him!" Steve grabbed hold of him before he could pass using his shield to take out one of Tony's repulsers. Tony managed to get away from Steve anyway, using his laser to close of the entrance before Steve could get through.

"Left boot-jet failing. Flight systems compromised." Friday informed him as he tried to fly up after Bucky and Chehsire.

"Ah crap." Tony hissed as he landed sloppily on one of the grated landing.

He took off again after them, catching up and kicking Bucky down. Cheshire leapt at Tony, but he caught her in the stomach forcing her to land back first on a lower landing. Tony took aim, about to shoot Bucky point blank.

"No, please, no…" Cheshire struggled to get to them, her cry causing Tony a moment of hesitation, but he was determined. He fired only for Steve to land in from of Bucky deflecting the blow back at Tony shooting him out of the air.

"He's not going to stop." Steve said helping Bucky up just as Cheshire made it to them, instantly running into Bucky's arms. Steve looked between the two of them before gesturing up with his head. "Go."

"Come on." Bucky chanted as they jumped from landing to landing getting closer to the exit. "Come on."

"Almost there." Cheshire grit out as she could hear Tony and Steve's fight below them.

Just as they reached the top and were about to climb out when a missile shot the door's hinged causing it to fall shut almost crushing them under it. Tony shot up at them, Bucky holding him back with a large pipe which he swung at Tony who caught it pulling it from his grasp and hitting him back with it. Tony grabbed hold of Bucky, his arm latched around his throat.

"Do you even remember them?" Tony demanded.

"I remember all of them." Bucky said brokenly.

Cheshire took up the fight as she launched herself from the wall gaining some air as she landed a solid double kick to Tony's head forcing him to let Bucky go. Tony fired at her, but she evaded his attempts jumping to a higher grating then pouncing onto Tony wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist from behind.

"We remember everything we were forced to do and there's nothing we can do to fix it." Cheshire growled as Tony grabbed her arm, starting to pull it away. "Killing him won't bring them back."

"He killed my mom." Tony bit out, his grip painful, but she dug her claws in holding on for dear life.

"And you've killed plenty yourself." Cheshire snarled, fed up with everything. "I know about Wanda and Pietro, your bomb killed their parents. You didn't seem to agree that they had the right to take revenge on you and kill you, not to mention when your demented robot killed her brother and all of those innocent civilians, do they have the right to your life, I mean, you were in complete control of yourself then."

"I didn't fire those weapons." Tony replied, struggling to maintain his sense of right, prying Cheshire and throwing her away from himself.

"But you made them." Cheshire ground out as she forced herself back on her feet starring Tony straight in the eyes. "You of all people know what it's like to be used to hurt others. If you deserve so many more chances than so does he."

"Agree to disagree." Tony attacked shot her point blank in her chest. She flew back into a wall causing it to crack. She slumped off of the grate falling down the tunnel hitting the ground with a sickening smack not moving.

"Anya!" Bucky jumped at Tony yelling out his anger, the two grappling midair.

Bucky slammed his metal fist into Tony over and over again, but Tony gained the upper hand right returning the hits before Steve jumped at them forcing them down. Bucky landed on another grate while Tony and Steve fell all the way down to ground level, a wall separating the two. Tony climbed up until he was standing on the wall looking down at Rogers who had just made it to his feet.

"This isn't going to change anything." Steve tried.

"I don't care. He killed my mom." Tony shot at him knowing he wouldn't get to Bucky until he took out Rogers.

They grappled for a time unto Tony was waylaying on Rogers who was pinned to the ground. Bucky saw Steve's shield nearby and grabbed it. He jumped from the landing brining it down on Tony's head forcing him to let go of Steve. Tony shot at Bucky who used the shield to block the shot.

The three fought viciously amongst themselves, Steve and Bucky in tandem and Tony struggling to keep up with them. A shot from Tony took Steve out allowing him to focus on Bucky who blocked it laser attack and forced him against the wall gripping his arc reactor in his metal hand slowly crushing it. Tony blasted him from the reactor taking his metal arm off completely.

Bucky struggle to his knees looking at the charred remnants of his arm, Tony taking the opportunity to shoot him in the back. Steve shot up at Tony before he could attack Bucky again blocking shot after shot from Tony until Stark used a focused beam against Steve's shield. The energy built up until it peaked with a large explosion that only stopped them for a moment before they were back at each other's throats.

The blast woke Cheshire who was struggling as he healing factor was hampered by the toll the events had taken on her body. It had been a long time since she had taken so much damage at once. She forced herself up to her feet still bleeding as she limped over to the wall separating her from the fight. She ground her teeth as she climbed over, her eyes flickering from the fight between Steve and tony to where Bucky was laying, his arm gone.

Unable to climb down she let herself fall, rolling against the rough concrete leaving behind a trail of blood coming to a painful stop at the bottom. With a pained groan she crawled over to Bucky collapsing next to him breathing hard as she took his hand in his, letting out a relieved sigh when she felt a pulse.

She felt everything drift away, the fighting of the two legendary Avenger's mere background noise as she held onto Bucky. She was so afraid that she was about to lose him all over again, she didn't think she could face that again.

Her breathing became panicked as the memories of her time without Bucky came back and the thought that it was happening all over again. Her heart was racing and she felt a tingling numbness in the hands and fingers. A sense of terrifying and impending doom filled her mind as her breathing became difficult, she was losing control.

"You can't beat them hand to hand." Friday warned Tony as Steve cornered him.

"Analyze his fighting pattern." Tony ordered.

"Scanning!" Friday replied. "Countermeasures ready."

"Let's kick his ass." Tony said grabbing Steve's shield and the tide turned. Tony blasted the shield from Steve's hands then let loose a string of attacks on Steve that forced the Captain into defensive mode. He finished up with a point blank blast to Steve's stomach that brought him to his knees.

"He's my friend." Steve gasped out clutching his stomach.

"So was I." Tony struggled. Tony belted him in the face before tossing him out of the way. "Stay down. Final warning."

"I can do this all day." Steve tried to stand, but slumped against the wall. Tony turned back to Bucky only to come face to face with Cheshire, but something was off in the way that she held herself.

"Cheshire…" Tony started, but she snarled at him baring her teeth like a wild animal.

With a loud roar she charged at Tony who fired at her, his shot grazing her arms, but not stopping her. She swiped her claws at him forcing him back as each hit left deep gouges in his armor. He knew then that she had been holding back as he felt her claws dig straight through the armor cutting into his stomach. He was sure if it wasn't for the armor his innards would have become outards.

"Analyze her fighting pattern." Tony ordered, trying the same plan as he did on Rogers.

"Scanning." Friday replied as Tony was kept on the defensive.

"Anytime now." Tony ducked under Cheshire's swipe for his throat.

"There is not fight pattern." Friday replied.

"What do you mean there's no fight pattern?" Tony snapped.

"Sir, she's not attacking like a human she attacking like an animal." Friday told him. "She's gone into some sort of berserker mode."

He grabbed her wrists only for her to use the leverage to kick him in the gut against the wall behind him. She did not relent as she followed up grabbing him, spinning him around, and slamming his head into the wall as hard as she could. He crumpled to the ground with a dent in his head, Cheshire pinning him to the floor as she raked her claws over his face cutting the mask from his face. Tony covered his face with his arms as Cheshire reared back for a final attack, with blood lust in her crimson eyes.

"Anya…don't." Bucky called out weakly.

"James, he'll take you from me." Cheshire growled, struggling as she gnashed her teeth.

"We're not killers Anya, not anymore, don't do this." Bucky said and Cheshire looked down at Tony. "Not when we have a choice."

"I don't want to lose you again." Cheshire sobbed, tears streaming from her eyes before she brought her claws down.

Tony closed his eyes waiting for the slice of her swing, but instead he heard the sound of metal being ripped through. Opening his eyes he saw that she had sliced through his reactor causing into to go dim. She glared at Tony as she struggled to her feet along with Steve who helped Bucky to his feet.

Steve couldn't even bring himself to look at Tony as Cheshire stumbled over to them. The three of them limped away from Tony who laid on the ground, Bucky's arm wrapped around Steve's shoulder while Cheshire supported him on his other side.

"That shield does not belong to you. You don't deserve it! My father made that shield!" Tony called after them, the three of them pausing when Steve did. Slowly Steve dropped the shield before they continued on their way out leaving Tony behind.


	6. Chapter 6

Back at Avengers HQ, Tony was with Rhodes as he tentatively walked besides using the parallel bars with tech on his legs. It was clear that it was a struggle considering the amount of sweat on his shirt and the stiffness of his movements.

"It's just the first pass." Tony told him.

"Yeah." Rhodes nodded.

"Give me some feedback. Anything you can think of." Tony told him, his guilt clear. "Shock absorption. Lateral movement. Cup holder?"

"You may wanna think about some AC down in..." Rhodes lost his balance when he stepped away from the bars falling to the ground.

"Let's go." Tony kneeled down to him with a pained look in his eyes though he tried to act nonchalant. "I'll give you a hand.

"No, no, don't. Don't help me. Don't help me." Rhodes wanted to do it himself. He rose to his hands and knees, turning to sit on the floor beside Tony. "138. 138 combat missions. That's how many I've flown. Every one of them could've been my last, but I flew 'em. Because the fight needed to be fought. It's the same with these Accords. I signed because it was the right thing to do. And, yeah, this sucks. This is... This is a bad beat. But it hasn't change my mind." He gave a crooked smile and took Tony's offered hand. "I don't think."

"You okay?" Tony asked.

"Oh yeah." Rhodes said taking hold of the bars again. There was a knock on the window, a elderly Fed-Ex man standing outside with a packet in his hand. "Are you Tony "Stank"?"

"Yes, this is- this is Tony "Stank". You're in the right place." Rhodes laughed as he continued on the bars, Tony turning his eyes skyward. "Thank you for that! I'm never dropping that, by the way. Table for one, Mr. "Stank". Please, by the bathroom."

Tony waited until he was alone to open the package finding an envelope and a phone inside. He placed the phone to the side before opening up the letter and reading its contents, his face a grim mask.

' _Tony,_

 _I'm glad you're back at the compound. I don't like the idea of you rattling around in a mansion by yourself. We all need family. The Avengers are yours, maybe more so than mine. I've been on my own since I was 18. I never really fit in anywhere, even in the army. My faith's in... people, I guess. Individuals. And, I am happy to say for the most part, they haven't let me down. Which is why I can't let them down either. Locks can be replaced, but, maybe they shouldn't. I know I hurt you, Tony. I guess I thought by not telling you about your parents, I was sparing you. But... I can see now that I was really sparing myself. And I'm sorry. Hopefully one day you can understand. I wish we'd agree on the Accords, I really do. I know you're doing what you believe in. And that's all any of us can do. That's all any of us should.'_

"Priority call from Secretary Ross. There's been a breach at the RAFT prison." Friday informed Tony.

"Yeah, put him through." Tony said and Ross came in over the phone.

"Tony, we have a problem…" Ross started.

"Ah, please hold." Tony replied.

"No. Don't..." Ross was cut off by Tony placing him on hold, a red light blinking to indicate the call.

' _So, no matter what. I promise you, if you need us, if you need me, I'll be there.'_ Tony finished Steve's letter feeling more tired than he had in a long while. Suddenly his office door flung open allowing a young teenage girl to stroll in with a bright smile.

"Hey Grandpa." Rhea adjusted her backpack slung over her shoulder and propped up her rolling case behind her. Her long black hair fell down to her waist tied back with a green scarf that matched her green eyes with silver flecks shinning in them. Tony looked up with a smile coming over to his granddaughter pulling her into a tight hug. "Miss me?"

"Like the plague kid." Tony rubbed the top of her head.

"Mom filled me in on what you told her happened." Rhea commented and Tony winced at the dressing down he got from his daughter about the accords, needless to say she was against them and thought at the very least the Avengers should have had more input into their making than just having them thrown in their faces. It was when he told her what happened in the old Russian facility that she decided that he needed family and while she was busy with Loki due to a complication in Asgard she decided that Rhea needed some time on earth. "Are you ok?"

"Fine kiddo." Tony said with a wide smile.

"You remember who my dad is right?" Rhea raised an eyebrow.

"Not so sure you got you observational skills from him." Tony muttered rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Especially when you give me that same look Vanessa always gives me." Tony stood up suddenly. "How about you go put your things in your room and I'll go get Rhodey, then we can grab something to eat for dinner?"

"Sounds good." Rhea nodded as she turned to leave. "And I know you're changing the subject to avoid it."

"I know you know, but I'm doing it anyway." Tony stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Meet me in the work out room when you're ready."

"Ok." Rhea walked out of the room down to the living quarters, pausing when she saw Vision starring out of the large windows. She left her stuff near the couch and walked over to him. "Hello Uncle Vis."

"Hello Rhea." He smiled, though his eyes were still sad, and accepted a hug from her. He had been very touched out how accepting Vanessa had been of him as well as Rhea. Vanessa had been over the moon about finally having a sibling even if it was an unconventional birth at best. "It is good to see you. How are your parents and Thor doing?"

"Thor's off on a quest for something or another, mom and dad are holding down the fort with Grandfather." Rhea replied with a shrug, a brief flash of worry crossing her mind before she shook it off. "How are you doing?"

"I assume you know of recent events." Vision said softly and Rhea nodded.

"Why don't you go find her?" Rhea asked.

"It would be against the accords to locate her and not take her in." Vision shook his head.

"But you love her don't you?" Rhea questioned.

"I believe so." Vision admitted.

"Then I don't understand how paper and ink are keeping you away from her." Rhea shook her head and Vision could not think of a reply. Rhea waved her hand toward the coffee table, a blue green mist swirling then disbursing to reveal an ornate Norse inspired chessboard. "Care for a game to take your mind off things? Might help."

"I think that is a good idea." Vision nodded as he took a seat on one of the coaches, Rhea taking a seat across from him on the other couch. The two delved into their intense game taking their time as they moved their pieces. Soon Tony and Rhodey showed up with dinner, getting pulled into the game and providing dialogue as they went along between bites of Chinese food.

-0-

"You sure about this?" Steve asked Bucky who was sitting next to Cheshire, his arm wrapped around her as she pressed into his side.

"I can't trust my own mind. So, until they figure out how to get this stuff out of my head I think going back under is the best thing, for everybody." Bucky kissed the top of Cheshire's head.

"I'll be here when you wake up." Cheshire looked up at him cupping the side of his face. Steve suddenly found what the technicians were doing to be very interesting giving the couple some sort of privacy.

"I know, I love you Anya." Bucky leaned into her touch.

"I love you to James." Cheshire smiled sadly. When she looked into his eyes she felt the familiar warmth of love spread from her heart to the rest of her body.

He leaned down gently covering her mouth with his in a loving kiss. She responded immediately to his kiss, falling into the old dance. His mouth was so warm, the caress of his lips soft, and was so reassuring. In this kiss was a promise that he would come back to her that he would always come back to her. In return her kiss was a promise to wait for him even if it was forever.

She stood with Steve as they watched them put Bucky into the cryo-machine, Bucky sending them one last small smile before he was put into a frozen sleep. Steve and Cheshire reluctantly left the room to allow the technicians room to work without them getting in the way.

"Thank you for this." Steve walked over to T'Challa looking out of a bank of windows that showed a beautiful waterfall landscape amidst a thriving jungle.

"Your friend and my father, they are both victims. If I can help one of them to find peace..." T'Challa said.

"You know, if they find out he and I are here, they'll come for us." Cheshire said to him.

"Then, let them try." T'Challa smirked.

"I need to make a call." Steve said taking his leave as he took out his phone.

"I don't think I can ever thank you enough." Cheshire said softly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You don't have to." T'Challa shook his head. "I believe we are even for the part I played in these events."

"Still…" Cheshire turned to him. "…should you need anything all you have to do is ask."

"I will keep that in mind." T'Challa nodded. "I'd like to introduce you to Shuri, she'll be in charge of helping Bucky to heal."

"Sounds good kitten." Cheshire smiled at T'Challa's groan of annoyance due to the nick name she refused to stop calling him by, following him to the labs.

-0-

Taylor groaned as her phone went off, her hand flopping along her nightstand until she found it. She almost dropped it a few times before getting it to her ear.

"Hello?" Taylor sighed.

"Taylor, I need your help." Steve said causing Taylor to sit up.

"Steve? What the heck is going on? I've been trying to contact you or Tony, but no one is answering their phones." Taylor snapped.

"Have you been watching the news?" Steve asked.

"Yeah I have, at least what their presenting as the truth from the government point of view." Taylor stood up pacing her room. "You should have called me."

"It was a lot of touch and go." Steve replied.

"You didn't know whose side I would take." Taylor said dryly.

"I didn't want to put you on the spot." Steve replied.

"But now you need my help?" Taylor asked.

"Did you sign the accords they sent you?" Steve questioned.

"Nope, took one look at those and knew it was more than likely some ploy to get us on the payroll then take advantage of us." Taylor replied as she stretched. "But I tell you something, my bed side table has never been so sturdy before." Taylor grabbed her clothes pulling them on as she put Steve on speaker. "So what did you need help with Cap?"

"I need your help with a prison break." Steve replied and a portal opened up behind his revealing Taylor on a pair of black skinny jeans, black converse, and a long layered black tank top with a white and metallic gold design splattered across it, a draped black leather cardigan, and her spear strapped to her back. Her hair was longer reaching down to her shoulders, was now a light dirty blonde, and had a wave to it.

"It would be my pleasure." Taylor smiled and glanced around as a few of Wakanda's guards. "Wakanda, nice place."

"You look different." Cheshire commented.

"Hey Ches." Taylor pulled the woman into a tight hug. "Yeah, well this is my natural hair color and it was my mom's." Taylor shrugged. She had spent years making her appearance as far away from her moms, but know she felt like it was time to just let that go and be herself even if it reminded her very much of her mother. "Now when I look in the mirror I see her as she was, not how she had suffered." Cheshire smiling in understanding knowing how much the loss of her mother and brother caused her pain." Taylor ran her hand through her hair. "Your majesty." Taylor crossed her arms over her chest to T'challa who nodded back repeating the action. "So where are we headed?"

"It's a place called the Raft, a floating prison." Steve told her. "They have Clint, Wanda, Sam, and Scott there."

"So you can't track it by conventional means." Taylor surmised.

"Right." Steve nodded.

"I'll need a map of the world." Taylor said and was given one almost right away. "Wait, who's Scott?"

"Ant Man, he's a new friend." Cheshire replied.

"Oh, ok." Taylor smoothed out the map. "Now before I do this how important is this map to you?"

"It is just a map, it holds no personal attachments." T'Challa replied glancing at Cheshire and Steve.

"That's good." Taylor nodded. "And what's the fire suppressant system like here? Like if I were to set something on fire would we get drenched?"

"It is state of the art, but why does that matter?" T'Challa asked.

"Just a general question just for, you know, general purposes." Taylor shrugged, Cheshire pulling up the hood of her Jacket. Taylor formed multiple spell seals over the map, one over each ocean. "Ok, let's get this show on the road." Taylor slammed her hand down on middle of the map which suddenly burst into flame causing everyone to flinch back. Luckily the fire suppressant system did not go off allowing the map to burn until only a piece was left revealing the location of the raft. "Ta'da!"

"That's it?" T'Challa asked.

"Yep." Taylor nodded holding up the piece.

"Can you get us there?" Steve asked.

"No problem." Taylor nodded taking out her sling ring.

"Wait, what if you're wrong?" Cheshire asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Then get ready for a swim." Taylor started to turn her hand until a portal opened, Steve and Cheshire rushing in with Taylor hot on their heels, the portal closing behind them. They moved through the facility surprising the heck out of the guards until they were able to make their way to the holding facilities. "I'll get Wanda and meet you guys where they're holding the others."

"Hurry." Steve said as they split up. Taylor ran down the halls knocking out the last of the guards in her way before reaching Wanda who was sitting with her legs drawn up against the wall, a clunky collar around her neck.

"Wanda!" Taylor took out her spear cutting through the locking system opening the door.

"Taylor." Wanda said in surprise as Taylor kneeled in front of her.

Taylor was nearly knocked off of her feet as the young woman pulled her into a tight hug. Taylor was a bit surprised by the sudden outburst, but hugged her back realizing how scared she was. She gently moved back with a reassuring smile then looked over the collar thoughtfully.

"Let's get this off of you sweetie." Taylor placed her hands on the device and started to freeze it. "Might get a bit uncomfortable."

"It's ok." Wanda nodded.

"Ok, I'm going to need you to lean your head to the side exposing as much of your neck as possible and whatever you do, do not move, ok?" Taylor pulled out her spear. Nervously Wanda nodded doing as she said with her eyes closed tight. There was a swiping sound and the device fell to the ground in two halves.

"Thank you." Wanda said as she reached up rubbing her neck.

"No problem, now let's get to the others." Taylor pulled her up leading her back through the prison where they met up with Steve and Cheshire who had Sam with him. "Where's Clint and that other guy you mentioned?"

"They made a plea deal to be with their families." Sam replied.

"Good for them." Taylor opened a portal allowing them to slip back to Wakanda just as backup had arrived.

"Whoa." Sam breathed out as he stood before T'Challa and his royal guards, Wanda's face a mask of awe as she took in the impressive sight through the windows.

"Welcome to Wakanda." T'Challa smiled as their impressed looks.


End file.
